That Which Has Been Unwritten
by MyTypeOfGuyIsFictional
Summary: When the entire team is killed, they are given a second chance, but they must pretend to be the family they never had in their real lives. If they can keep themselves as members of the same family for one year, they get to redo the day they all died in an explosion. But if they fail… FiNALLY In-Progress AGAIN
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

**That Which Has Been Unwritten **

**When the entire team is killed, they are given a second chance, but they must pretend to be the family they never had in their real lives. If they can keep themselves as members of the same family for one year, they get to redo the day they all died in an explosion. But if they fail…**

**Pairings: None**

_"Adam, we can't let them go there," a woman's voice pleaded. Two figures, ideal in stature, one male and one female, stood in silhouette behind a white curtain._

_"We have no choice, Eve," the male voice stated, turning to leave._

_"Yes," the female voice replied, finally steadier than before. "We do."_

Spencer Reid slowly regained consciousness, although he was quite disoriented, and very confused. He opened his eyes hesitantly, squinting at the bright whiteness of his surroundings. He stood in a long hallway, with several white doors marked with unfamiliar letters, and a set of intricately-carved double doors at the end that were inlaid with gold.

"Reid?" asked a barely-lucid Penelope Garcia as she stood up. Reid offered Penelope a hand as she struggled to stand, the disorientation clearly affecting her.

"Welcome," a strange, drafty echo called down the corridor, like a wisp of the past traveling through time to the pair.

"Where are we?" Garcia demanded, calling out to everything and anything within reach.

"You are at the place where we will decide," a different echo called out, this one more distinctly female than the other. A silhouette appeared at the end of the hallway, dressed in a Victorian-era wedding dress as she drifted towards Spencer and Penelope.

"Decide what?" Reid inquired nervously as the woman came close enough for him to see her face. She smiled, her painted white face wrinkling slightly, but the smile stopped in her grey eyes.

"We must decide whether you deserve a second chance," the woman answered, setting down one glass-slipper-covered foot on the white floor. It made a resonating click as it tapped the ground. The other followed suit as she took each of their hands in hers, leading them down the hallway towards the final door. She wrapped her lithe white fingers around the intricately-carved golden handle and pushed open the door…

**AN: Should I continue with this little plot bunny that has taken residence in my brain?**


	2. Chapter 2: The Decision

**Thanks for all the review! 10+ reviews in 3 hours! That's awesome. Here's the next chapter, please R&R**

**Edit: I have changed something, based on the fact that some people have issues. Hopefully, that has been fixed. **

**FLAMES WILL BE DONATED TO HOBOS LIVING UNDER BRIDGES!'**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, nor will I ever. However, if the people who do want to sell it, I'll take it gladly!**

As the door creaked open, a bright light shone into the hallway, blinding the two agents. As their eyes slowly adjusted, the Victorian bride faded away, allowing them to pass into the room beyond. Spencer hesitantly walked forward, feeling smooth marble under his shoeless foot. He hadn't noticed until then, but now it was painfully obvious; the marble floor was cold. He walked slowly, still not fully used to the bright light. He reached for Penelope's hand, finding it close behind him.

"Welcome, Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia, Derek Morgan, Aaron Hotchner, David Rossi, Jennifer Jareau, and Emily Prentiss," a distorted collection of voices announced. As each one's name was said, the light dimmed in his or her eyes, and he or she could see his or her teammates. They wanted to gather, but there seemed to be no time, as a figure appeared in front of them, sitting before a large white table, another bride, but this one was joined by an elegantly dressed man, presumably from the same era, which appeared to be some time during the Middle Ages.

"Where are we?" Emily Prentiss asked no one, anyone, and everyone, breaking the tense silence that had settled over the room. She received no answer, other than movement behind the table. The woman stood, floating towards the group.

"It appears that you have all died. However, there is some _debate_, shall we say, among our superiors as to where to send you all. You see, you have all killed someone. In order to allow you to heaven, you can only have killed to protect your family, or to protect those younger than you who cannot protect themselves," she said, her voice melodic and rich as she floated down to them.

"But.. we are a family," Garcia quipped. The rest of the team agreed, moving closer to Penelope in a display of unity.

"And this is where the debate is. Some believe you are a family, and others believe you are not," the man said, standing to join the woman. "Some believe that your bonds are close enough to make you a family, while others believe a family must live together, and grow together. In light of this, we've compromised on a solution. You will prove that you can live as a family, and in doing so, you will show that you are the family that you believe yourselves to be. If you can do this, you may redo the day you died, and return to the life you left behind, with the knowledge that you are a family." "But if you fail…" the woman began, stepping over the man's words. "If you fail, you will be sent to hell." The team gasped in shock, their reactions having been delayed for the entire speech by the pair.

"What about Penelope?" Spencer asked, gesturing to the blonde. "She's never killed anyone, ever." The rest of the team nodded their agreement, and the pair exchanged a glance before turning back to the profilers and tech.

"Have any of you fired in defense of Penelope?" the man asked. Slowly, hesitantly, Jennifer Jareau raised her hand halfway, the rest of the team following suit. "You fired in defense of Penelope because every time you fired, you fired to protect the ones in your family. If Penelope is part of your family, then she must be there." The man and woman turned away, leaving the team alone in the cavernous room.

A video began to play on one of the walls, and the team recognized themselves.

It was the last day of their lives.

_The entire team walked towards the house, a decrepit old yellow shack in a less-than-pleasant part of town. They had been told by an anonymous source that there were bodies in the house, and they were heading there to check if the source was telling the truth. Their most recent case was centered around a set of kidnappings and murders, and while they had evidence that the victims were dead, they didn't have the bodies. If they had been functioning fully, they would've considered the coincidence of the call; specifically, the fact that it had come directly after Derek had made a snappy comment about the bodies' missing location, but they were running on empty, having survived on police station sludge, AKA coffee, and donuts for the past two days. _

_As the first member of the team entered the house, Reid's keen eye caught sight of a mechanism that would activate something inside the house. He began to warn them, but then, the world exploded in a shower of dirt, fire and, yes, bodies. _

The video clicked off, and the group of seven stared in horror, having just seen the last moments of their lives played out on a large screen. Garcia screamed, bringing her hands to her mouth. She had been with them, simply because she had needed fresh air. She had been waiting in the SUV, typing furiously on her laptop, but she hadn't been in the house, although it hadn't mattered when the SUV's gas tank caught fire, blowing her to pieces.

"Oh my god," she cried, tears trickling down her face. This was as bad as the time she watched Reid die, only this time, she was watching herself die.

Every single member of the team was shaken, but they didn't have time to break down. The world around them disappeared, fading into white before turning to blackness…


	3. Chapter 3: The Arrival

**Here is the next chapter, earlier than I thought I'd post it. Hopefully for the couple of people with problems with the rules, this might help fix things a bit. Other than that, I won't spoil anything else, hehe.**

**FLAMES WILL BE FED TO MY DRAGON PYROS, REVIEWS GO TO MY MUSE! I accept criticism, as long as it's not too harshly cruel. Thanks! :)**

**ALSO, JUST TO NOTE: WHILE I DID IN FACT MAKE UP THE RULES, I DON'T AGREE WITH THEM IN ANY WAY. I SIMPLY NEEDED THEM TO ESTABLISH THE PLOTLINE.**

**Disclaimer: Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, don't own, never will. It's probably for the best. After all, most people don't like the ship of Garcia/Reid.**

"You'd think after dying that you wouldn't get motion-sick," Jennifer Jareau said, sitting up from where she lay on the carpeted floor of a room. She blinked in shock at the high-pitched child's voice that came out of her mouth.

"Jayje, is that you?" another young female voice asked. A child of about twelve, dressed in every color under the sun and then some, sat up, looking around the room, looking for the other members of their team. _No, family_, Penelope Garcia's mind corrected her. She lifted her tiny hand, amazed at the size, and used it to help her stand up, her body still a bit dizzy from the terrifying transportation to Earth. She spotted J.J. doing the same, and flashed a grin.

"You're missing a front tooth," J.J. chuckled, only it came out as a giggle. She covered her mouth and walked over to Penelope, using the furniture in the room to help her move until she reestablished her balance.

"You're wearing pigtails," Garcia shot back to the other girl, retaliating for the tooth comment. J.J.'s hands flew to her hair, and she gasped as she felt her hair in a style that only six-year-olds and Penelope Garcia would ever wear. She hastily pulled them out, shaking her blonde hair out. It was significantly lighter than it had been, and came to the young girl's shoulders. Penelope took Jennifer's hand and they began walking towards the door to the room, when they heard a groan. They quickly scanned the room for anyone, and they watched as a tiny feminine hand appeared on the top of a brown leather couch by the side of the room.

"This sucks," a young Emily Prentiss stated, pulling herself to her feet. Her head and shoulders reached the top of the couch, but she was still quite short. She walked over to Penelope and J.J., having a better sense of balance than the two of them combined. She managed to avoid falling flat on her face, navigating the room expertly.

"How old do you think we are?" Garcia asked. She estimated that Emily was probably about eight or night, and J.J. was about ten or eleven, but she had no idea how old she was.

"I think you're probably twelve or thirteen," Emily declared. "You're taller than us, and you've got the beginnings of boobs."

"Well, no need to beat around the bush," J.J. muttered sarcastically. In reality, she was more reacting to the fact that it seemed that both she and Emily were considerably younger than their former tech.

"I think you're probably eleven, Jayje," Penelope said, noticing the look of jealousy in her friend's eyes. It was the same one that she wore the night that Kevin had taken Garcia to a David Bowie concert, and she'd spent the night wishing that Will would take her to an Evanescence one. When J.J. heard Penelope's estimate, she blinked in surprise.

"Ok, so I'm eleven, and you're thirteen, so how old is Emily?" J.J. asked. Penelope looked the youngest of the children over, and thought for a moment.

"I think she's about nine, how about you, Jayje?" Penelope asked, acknowledging the younger girl to avoid creating any sense of exclusion. She remembered being eleven and hating when her parents would talk to her brothers about something and ignore her completely. Thinking of her brothers, though posed an important question: Were they supposed to be _sisters_ now? She shook her head to clear it and pushed the question to the back of her mind. If anything, it was a question that could be answered later. Right now, she needed a second opinion on Emily's age.

"I think nine's about right," J.J. confirmed, happy not to be the youngest of the girls.

"Hey, shouldn't we go find the guys?" the tiny brunette suggested, receiving nods from both blondes. They opened the door slowly, walking into a hallway that led to a dining room, a set of stairs, a kitchen, and a bedroom.

"I'll take the dining room, Em, you check the kitchen, and Jayje, you check the bedroom," Penelope ordered, having already jumped into the older sister role as best as she could, her only points of reference being her older brothers. J.J. and Emily nodded and headed towards their assigned rooms. A loud shout from J.J. brought both Penelope and Prentiss running into the bedroom, where they found a boy of about five or six.

"Spence?" J.J. asked, having finally recovered from her surprise. The little boy nodded, furiously trying to scramble down off of the bed that he had landed on.

"Let me help you with that," Garcia offered, holding out her hands to Spencer, who adamantly refused, and plopped back down onto the quilted bedspread.

"I wonder where Derek, Hotch and Rossi are?" Emily mused. With Penelope busy with Reid, she figured she could go back to searching for the other men of the team.

"Hey, where are you guys?" a nearly-unchanged version of Derek's voice called out.

"If he got to stay the same age, I will have no qualms about kicking him in the nuts," Emily muttered, kicking at the wood floor.

"I'll help you out, just tell me when and where, sister," Penelope announced, having spotted the little brunette wondering off. Emily walked back to them, and called out to Derek, hoping that he could follow the sound of their voices.

"Hey, there you guys are!" Derek said as he walked through the door. The girls giggled as Morgan walked in, having shrunk to about five foot three, and having the muscles of adult Spencer. Emily whispered something to J.J., who laughed and whispered back, out of earshot of both Derek and Penelope, who had moved towards each other naturally.

"Well, this is… different…" Penelope stifled her laughter as Derek tossed them a death glare.

"Not. One. Word," Derek growled at all of them. Emily mocked zipping her lips shut and fought to choke back laughter.

All of that ended when Hotch and Rossi _literally_ materialized in the doorway, the type of materializing usually seen in sci-fi movies. One minute they weren't there, the next they were. As they appeared, they managed to walked to the bed and sit down before being assaulted by the dizziness that everyone had experienced within the first few minutes of their landing.

"All right, then… What now?" the rest of the group looked towards Penelope, who had taken over the role of leader, but she just shrugged.

"Those two are still adults, right? Well, I guess it's their job to figure that out," Penelope decided. The others seemed to accept her explanation, and they sat on the bed, waiting for the adults in the room to wake up.

"If I'd known this was going to involve all of you as children, I might've reconsidered this idea," Rossi grumbled, sitting up and resting his head in his right hand. Hotch sat up not too long after, still looking slightly dazed.

"Ok, so it looks like Rossi and Hotch are the adults here, Derek's fifteen, I'm thirteen, J.J.'s eleven, Emily's nine, and Spencer's five," Penelope stated. Internally, everyone cringed. Hearing their new ages, for all except Hotch and Rossi, was somehow worse, it made the disorienting change more real.

On the wooden dresser, Penelope spotted something white, and she ran over to check it out, powered by a newfound energy that had come with her small body.

"It's a note," she declared, holding it up for the others to see. The piece of paper was covered in ornate script, and she struggled to make sense of it.

_Dear BAU Family,_

_Welcome to New Jersey. We know that Aaron's ex was here with Witness Protection, so we figured this was a good place to toss you in. On the back is a list of information about your little community; I suggest you familiarize yourself with it. Remember, you have one year, beginning today._

_Good Luck,_

_Eve_

Penelope read the letter to the others. Those in children's bodies demanded she let them read it, but she handed it to Hotch before anyone else could get it.

"Well…" Hotch mused. "This will be… interesting." He turned the letter over in his hands, and stood up, a lingering sense of dizziness hanging over his body.

"We should probably check this house out, in case there's anything we need to fix," Derek suggested, leaving the room to inspect the house. the girls followed him, and they walked up the staircase, looking around as they walked.

"Wow, nice house," Spencer commented, his words slightly slurred by his tiny mouth.

The entire place was a mix between cozy and modern, with polished wooden floors, and fairly simple railings on the stairs. Morgan nodded in approval of the house they had landed in. It was the kind of house he would enjoy renovating. _If they've taken care of everything else as nice as they took care of the house, I could get used to this. _It was a sentiment shared by the adults, although the girls and Spencer were having different thoughts, especially Spencer, who stumbled over the steps and fell back into Garcia's arms.

"You alright, Reid?" she asked. He pushed himself out of her arms and ran up the wooden steps, avoiding the implications of falling. He didn't want to be a little kid. Although, he supposed, it did fit very well, considering the fact that he was always the baby of the team, but that didn't mean he had to accept the role.

As they reached the top of the stairs, they found five doors. One had Aaron's name on it, while another listed both Emily and J.J.'s in colorful, yet somehow almost tasteful, letters. A third had Garcia's name written in garish sparkly letters, and Reid's name appeared on the fourth, leaving the fifth for Derek, and downstairs for Rossi.

"At least we don't have to have that fight," Rossi muttered to himself, watching as everyone discovered their rooms. He didn't want to leave his little family all alone while they discovered their new spaces. He walked aimlessly, peeking into the rooms of his co-workers. _Family_, he reminded himself. They were a family now.

He let his mind wander for minute, away from their current situation. What about the people who killed for their country? He had done that as a soldier, and while he had not enjoyed killing people, he had done it to protect his country and its people. There were so many he knew, and it seemed unfair that they'd all be damned.

"You have questions," a soft voice stated behind him. He turned to see the same woman who had met with them before, only she was far more transparent in their home.

"What about the people who kill to protect their country? Or the police, who occasionally kill to protect the people they serve?" the peppered old profiler asked. The woman allowed a thin smile to pass onto her lips. Leave it to the oldest to have the questions.

"Were you fighting to protect your family? To ensure that they, as well as everyone else in your country, was safe and free? To protect the children who can't protect themselves?" she asked.

"Yes," David answered, no hesitation present in his voice.

"As long as they are fighting to protect their families, then they have followed the rules. If they fight and kill for the sake of killing, or for some type of gain, then they go to Hell, but it's rare that they take a life willingly, and even still, it is usually with the intent of protecting loved ones and family, and if not family, then protecting those who can't protect themselves. We can't begrudge them that."

"Why doesn't that apply to us?" David asked. She shook her head, as if to clear it.

"I'm not sure. In truth, this wasn't my choice, in any way. If it were up to me, you'd never have been stuck in this situation. I tried to make it seem like you were protecting those who can't save themselves, but they don't listen to me. If it makes you feel any better, I punched Cain in the face when he demanded you, and I quote, 'pay for your mistakes'. I'm really sorry you got stuck like this, but I'm working on getting you sent back to heaven where you belong."

"Well, in all honesty, I'd rather take my second chance while I've got it and hopefully get back to the people I left behind. Even though, to be honest, there aren't many of them, I'd rather go back to them instead of die."

"If you're sure. At least, let me make it easier for you," the woman offered, her smile finally reaching her eyes.

"How so?" Rossi arched his eyebrow. She sure was a mysterious creature, whatever species she might have been.

"Well, I'm assuming the children aren't used to their roles, so I'll push back the start of their school year until next month to give you enough time to adjust to your roles," she suggested. Dave nodded, and she snapped her fingers. After a nauseating second, the world settled, and the woman was gone.

_Well, _thought Rossi, _having magical people who can read my thoughts will probably get annoying after a while._

He heard a high-pitched laugh from far away, and was interrupted by loud voices downstairs.

_Great, what've they gotten into now? _Dave asked himself, walking down the staircase and hoping that no one had broken anything.


	4. Chapter 4: The Trip

**I'M FINALLY BACK! Sorry about the wait, but the screen on my computer with the files nearly fell off, so, after a scary few moments when it looked like I'd lose all my files, I found out it was fixable, and Best Buy (bless their souls) backed everything up, so I now have a new screen. I should also be updating SALS at some point in the near future, but for now, enjoy the de-aged characters. **

**FLAMES WILL BE FED TO MY PET DRAGON, REVIEWS GO TO MY MUSE.**

**Disclaimer: Well... my efforts to steal the rights have now been terminated. They're using the team to stop me. Penelope likes to back hack me, but I'll survive. **

"Can we _please _get _anything_ else for me to wear?" Emily Prentiss asked. The nine-year-old had finally found a mirror, and glared at her reflection. She wore a pink casual dress that wasn't as bad as she seemed to think it was, but the older men knew not to mess with an irritated Emily Prentiss, especially when it came to fashion. The brunette glared at Derek, who couldn't suppress a chuckle at seeing the mini-profiler looking so aggravated.

"What, Princess, you can't help being an adorable nine-year-old, you know?" Derek defended himself, earning his shin a painful visit from Penelope's left foot. He yelped in pain as the older of the two blondes in the room winked at Emily.

"I have to say that I'm in agreement with Prentiss on this one," Reid declared as he toddled over, still quite wobbly on his stubby legs. "I don't really want to live the rest of my life for the next year in the same outfit, and my dresser is empty upstairs."

"Mine too," J.J. added, jumping eagerly into the conversation. The two adults exchanged a look, and walked out to the garage, expecting to find it empty, based on the job that the council seemed to have done with the children's clothing. Instead, they found a black minivan parked in the small garage, with the back end barely fitting in the small space.

"Well, it's not exactly our SUVs, but it's the closest thing we can get that fits us all, I guess," Derek said, pulling open the sliding door.

"All right, miniaturized crime fighters, myself included, let's make this work. I'm assuming the two car seats are for Reid and Prentiss, seeing as they seem to be the smallest of us, which means that Derek, Jayje, and I get the back seat," Penelope stated as she climbed into the back of the black car.

"Nope. I am _not_ sitting in that," Prentiss declared obstinately as she spotted the Disney Princess themed booster seat.

"I second that!" Reid announced. Dave and Aaron exchanged the "god help us we're doomed" look that usually accompanied failed negotiations with terrorists. Although Reid and Prentiss no longer had guns and badges, and they were both shorter than Hotch's waist, they were two of the most stubborn people that the pair had ever met.

"Boy Wonder, don't you have some statistic about car crash safety that might convince you to sit in that seat?" Penelope asked, spotting the look of desperation passed between Rossi and Hotch. Reid paled as he ran through several unpleasant crash statistics for young children, and slid into the seat.

"Prentiss, maybe we should sit in these. Nearly 1.3 million people die in car crashes each year, which makes almost 3,300 people per day. Also-" Spencer began before J.J. cut him off.

"What he means is, cars are dangerous and in a smaller body, you're more likely to die again, and do you really want to lose a chance to go back to your old life?" J.J. rambled, growing more defensive as she carried on. She wanted a second chance with Henry, and Will, and the life she knew, and she certainly didn't want her second chance at life to be a waste, but Prentiss's stubborn streak had reared its ugly head, and would not be sent packing quietly.

"I'm not going to sit in that car seat, Hotch. I'll be fine, really," the brunette girl pleaded, standing outside the car.

"Emily, please, just sit in the car seat, otherwise Reid will quote statistics that will make it absolutely certain that _no one_ will want to be in, around, or driving this car," Derek called up from the back seat. He was squished between the girls, and growing more uncomfortable by the minute, so anything that would hurry along the process of getting the seven-year-old in the car would be extremely helpful.

"If I do this, Garcia can't take any pictures of me in it, and I don't have to try on any dresses at the mall. Deal?" Emily Prentiss wavered, realizing that she really just wanted out of the dress.

"Deal," Rossi said, stepping over everyone else in the car and forbidding them to object. He just hoped the rest of their problems could be handled this easily, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be the case.

Aaron Hotchner breathed a sigh of relief as he buckled Reid's carseat, much to the young boy's protests, and climbed into the driver's seat. He slid the gearstick into drive, clicked open the garage door, and drove out into the New Jersey suburbs.

CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM

"All right, remember, you have roles to play now. You are all little kids. Reid, you can't use huge words. Just try and act like Henry," Hotch instructed. The toddler nodded and sat patiently to wait for someone to undo the straps on his carseat.

"Can I have coffee?" the genius asked as Hotch unbuckled the last strap, which was met with a chorus of 'no's. Reid pouted and jumped down into the small parking lot, clumsily falling on his backside as he fell. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but he tried to conceal them as best as he could. He might've been a four-year-old, but he was going to act his real age as best he could.

As the tiny team traipsed into the mall, several people stopped to stare strangely at them. Emily glared at anyone who looked at her, and pulled Rossi into the first children's clothing store she saw in the hopes of getting rid of the pink dress. She dugs through the racks of girls' clothing as the other female children entered the store, sighing in despair as she discovered that it was _all_ frilly, pink, or both.

"_Bella_, what's wrong?" Rossi asked the dejected child.

"It's too… girly," she explained sadly. "They don't make things for seven year olds that aren't."

"Not in a girls' store, but this store has a partner store for boys. Maybe they'll have something you'll wear there," Rossi suggested, walking with the brunette towards the arch that led to the boys' side of the store. He sat on a cushioned bench in the middle and looked around, waiting for the others to appear. After nearly half an hour of waiting, each of the three children had gathered a sizable pile, even Emily, who had found her home on the boys side of the store, but, at Garcia's urging, had also grabbed a simple, no frills, muted dress from the girls' side, and a single black skirt. They made it into a fashion show of sorts, spinning out in colorful outfits of various colors, with Garcia's blinding color even brighter than they would have ever imagined.

After some debate, they eached picked out four outfits from the store, and Dave used his new credit card to pay, leading three happy girls out of the store and into the crowded mall.

Meanwhile….

"It's all so… babyish!" Reid declared as he looked at the meager offerings of the small toddler section of the large department store. Morgan facepalmed. That had been the younger's response to the last five stores. They were running out of options, and were all becoming irritated.

"Listen, Reid, just pick something for now. We need to find you something to wear, and if you don't pick then I swear I'll just grab whatever is easiest to get, no matter how babyish it is!" Derek huffed. The toddler looked up, terrified, and ran to a rack of Star Wars themed clothing, his lip trembling. He tried to calm himself, but his new little body didn't work like his big one, and his ability to conceal his emotions was gone with his other life.

"Is this what you want?" Hotch asked, relief evident in his voice. Spencer Reid was as stubborn as Emily Prentiss, and he felt bad for Rossi, being stuck with the three girls. He just hoped they would all survive. He laughed a little as Spencer toddled over to the small dressing room, and Aaron set down several Star Wars t-shirts, and two pairs of toddler-sized jeans on the small bench.

"Do you want help?" Aaron asked. Spencer shook his head no as Aaron closed the door to give the youngster space. He wouldn't do anything for Spencer that the child didn't want done, or need done.

Sure enough, he didn't have to wait long before hearing the uncontrolled sniffling that Reid desperately tried to conceal. Eventually, he heard a tiny, whispered request for his help, and he opened the door.

"I can't undo the snap," Reid admitted, each word weighing a million pounds on his pride. The tot had realized in that moment that there was no longer a question of it: he would need to ask the team for help doing the simplest things. The idea sickened the boy, but he simply tried to ignore his mind as Aaron quickly unbuttoned the snap on his tiny pants before leaving the boy alone to try on clothes. He knew that Spencer hated the invasion of his privacy, and so Aaron decided to wait outside so that the child could try on clothes. While he and Spencer were trying on clothes, Morgan was sitting on a bench outside the dressing room, waiting to go to any of the many teenager stores in the mall, and holding a miniature version of Reid's messenger bag that had appeared with the child in their house. As the oldest of the "children" he was the most physically mature, which meant that his body could still tolerate sitting still while Hotch and Spencer found clothes for the tot, but he was growing impatient to get moving, so as soon as they were ready, Derek walked with them to the checkout, where they quickly paid and left the store, a sleepy Spencer struggling to stay awake and keep up. With some protest from the younger boy, Derek picked up Spencer and continued walking at a slightly faster pace, and as soon as the younger boy's protests faded away, he had nodded off on Morgan's shoulder. Aaron flashed a rare smile at the scene and discreetly took a picture with his cell phone, an object he was glad to see that he still had, although it wasn't his old one, and it only had two phone numbers on it, including one very long one with several strange, long codes that, if he had to guess, was hardwired to the strange council that had set this entire second life up.

The other was another New Jersey cell phone, one he assumed belonged to Dave, and he hoped that was the case, because otherwise finding the other group of children and Rossi would be difficult.

As it turned out, that wouldn't be an issue, because as they rode up an escalator in the center of the mall towards a pretzel stand, they saw the other four, sharing two cups of tiny pretzel nuggets and looking around fervently, presumably to find the three others.

"There you guys are!" Prentiss shouted, quieting as she spotted the sleeping Reid in Derek's arm. She looked on questioningly, ignoring the quiet "awww" that came from Penelope's general direction, as Derek handed the child to Hotch.

"We all got what we needed. Did you all get everything?" Rossi asked, looking towards Morgan as he spoke.

Derek chuckled lightly and said, "Actually, I need to shop. Don't get me wrong, this outfit is cool and all, but I need something else to wear, too." He started off towards a teen store, while Aaron stood outside with Reid because the music inside would wake the child, and that was something no one wanted to deal with.

Derek shopped quickly, pulling out several items almost at random in his size, trying one of each on, and then handing them off to Rossi, who quickly paid before bringing the group back to Aaron, Reid, and Emily, who had stayed outside together, the brunette fighting exhaustion but refusing to admit it. As the left the mall, Aaron carrying Reid and the others carrying large bags of clothes, he hoped that Spencer would stay asleep, because he had a feeling that the genius' impulsive new body might reveal their secret. Thankfully, he stayed asleep through the loading process into the minivan, and slipped his thumb into his tiny mouth as they drove away. Both of the adults exchanged a slightly happy look. They both knew that Spencer Reid had never truly had a childhood. Maybe this could be a chance to give him one. Maybe this second life would be a second chance for the youngest profiler. They both hoped so.


	5. Chapter 5: The Park

**HAHAHAHAHA I'M BACK! I kicked the muse back into overdrive, and I finally managed to finish this. **

**THANKS TO EVERYONE READING! Please R&R so that my muse doesn't run away again.**

"Hotch, what are we doing at a park?" Reid asked, slurring his words with drowsiness as he fisted his eyes. The older profiler turned and, while wearing one of his small smiles, looked at the tiny profiler.

"While you were sleeping, Rossi and I decided to give you all a chance to run off the energy that comes with your new bodies, and we figured a park would be a good place to do that, seeing as you could all also practice your roles as little children," Aaron responded, finishing as Rossi opened the door and begin undoing the straps of Prentiss' car seat while the furious brunette scrambled to be free of the infernal contraption. She wanted nothing more than to slap the older man's hands away, but she had discovered before that she couldn't undo them on her own. As she climbed down onto the ground, she saw Reid squirming in Hotch's arms, not speaking for fear of revealing their little secret. She wanted to laugh; even though their second lives were strange and unexpected, she was happy to see that Reid might get a second chance at having the childhood he never had. Her thoughts began to drift to her own childhood, and how she would spend her time alone, in a big empty house, or with her mother at dinner parties where she would be expected to play the perfect daughter. She thought about the nights alone, and she was on the verge of tears, something that she hadn't felt in years, but the child's body wouldn't allow her famous compartmentalizing skills to work, but the tiny, chubby hand of a toddler-sized Reid broke her out of her personal reverie. He gently pulled her along, pointing towards the group of adults in children's bodies that had left them behind. The others had allowed their new bodies' instincts to guide them, most of them remembering how they had acted as children, and Morgan remembering how a normal teenager was supposed to act, but the youngest two had no such instincts, and only had Hotch and JJ's children as examples. Without anything to base their actions on, the two youngest were left to walk quietly towards the park, with no idea of what to do or how to do it.

In truth, the youngest two made quite the strange pair; a four year old and a seven year old walking slowly through a playground, and eventually settling at one of the chess tables along the side. Rossi, having confirmed that every child was safe in the main part of the park, left the others under the careful watch of Aaron Hotchner, the head of their strange little family, and strolled across the park towards the chess table where Reid and Emily sat, engaged in a battle of wits and strategy At the moment, Spencer was winning and held Prentiss' king in check, but Rossi could see the wheels turning in the brunette's head, and knew that Emily Prentiss would not be beaten so easily. Not wanting to break their concentration, he sat on a nearby bench and just watched, keeping a close eye on two of the most unlucky people he'd known in his past life. He wouldn't let their second life be tainted by the misfortune of their first.

After several long, well-played games of chess, Spencer noticed an older girl staring at them. Her dark brown eyes held sadness in them, and she appeared to be seeing someone else. Her dark curly hair bounced over her shoulders as she walked towards them.

"You're pretty good at that, aren't you?" she asked the two of them. Prentiss smiled, thanking the girl for the compliment, while Reid ducked his head sheepishly, still quite modest, even in his tiny body.

"D'you wanna play?" he asked quietly, shyness clinging to him like seran wrap on cake. It was another (unwelcome) side effect of his second life, it seemed. Emily slid out of the seat, letting the other girl sit down.

"What's your name?" she asked, waiting for Reid to make the first move. The brown-haired boy hesitantly wrapped his chubby fingers around one of his pieces as he said, "Reid." The other girl watched as an almost comical expression of contemplation fell over the little child's face; it looked so out of place.

"I'm Roz," she introduced herself as Reid set the piece down. She took her own piece, and Spencer giggled a bit. She was picking up the wrong piece. He was sure he could beat her, even though she was almost twice his height. Reid moved his own piece, scanning the board to find the fastest way to win as Roz picked up the wrong piece again.

"Checkmate!" Reid shouted enthusiastically, covering his mouth after, surprised at the childishness of the sound. Roz laughed and knocked over her king.

"You're really good at this, aren't you?" Roz commented. Reid nodded happily, a soft glow emanating from him, one that no one had seen on him, even as a child.

"Well, I'm a genius wif an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and I can read 20,000 words per minute," he told her, and she stared, wide-eyed at him.

"Reid!" JJ called out, running towards the chess table. As she reached him, she noticed Roz, and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Roz?" she breathed hesitantly, falling back on the ground and staring at Roz.

"Yeah?" Roz replied calmly, looking to see the child, and she was awestruck as well.

"JJ? Did you die too?" Roz asked, shocked as the team gathered around and moved them away from the rest of the park, hoping to conceal their conversation.

JJ was both shocked, awestruck, and livid. She had thought she was the exception, that coming back to life was a rare thing, but here was Roz, standing right in front of them. And she was livid that her sister had come back _now_, that she'd chosen to come back to life after stealing herself from their family and ruining a good part of JJ's childhood, and forever terrifying her of razor blades.

"So, did you die?" Roz asked quietly. JJ couldn't trust her voice, so she just nodded.


End file.
